Tripura government hikes public transport fares

Agartala, July 3 (IANS) The Tripura government Thursday hiked fares for public transport in view of the rise in prices of petrol and diesel. “The fare hike would be 7 to 8.5 percent for petrol and diesel-run vehicles, while fare would remain the same for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-run vehicles,” said Manik Dey, Tripura transport minister. The new fares come into effect from Saturday.

Opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Front government for increasing the fares.

“To give some relief to the common men, the state government should lower the rate of taxes on petroleum products instead of increasing the fares for public transport,” said Tapas Dey, senior Congress leader.